Page 6 of Little Death
“That's right.”
“How unfortunate for you,” he says.
My stomach drops, but I say, “You can say that again. Do you think you could let me up now?”
Wordlessly, he pushes to his feet, and I do the same, wincing as my aching muscles protest. My thoughts whirl like a spun-out tire. I just need one opportunity to bargain my way out of here. With one chance to escape, I'll commit myself to earning a new world sprinting record. No way have I come this close to finding out what happened to my mother just for me to die before I finish what I've started.
Before he can say something else, the door wheezes open and his friend from earlier, the one with messy dark brown curls, strides in, a little out of breath. Catching sight of us, he pauses. His eyes widen, then crinkle with amusement.
His gaze darts to Aiden, and he lifts a brow.
“Don't say a feckin’ word,” Aiden spits, his accent rough and thicker than before. “Did you handle it?”
“Yes.” He tips his head in my direction as he circles Aiden and me. I'm reminded of a hyena by his mad smile and predatory perusal. I'm torn between keeping an eye on him and noting he's left the path between me and the door wide open. “Do you also need me to handle... this?”
A sinking feeling tells me I don't want to know what he means by handle it.
Aiden's attention trails along my skin as though he's touching me instead of merely looking. I'd almost prefer the other guy to kill me than to have Aiden studying me so closely.
“No, I don't think so. Why don't you go downstairs and keep our guests distracted? I'll be down shortly.”
Without giving them a warning, I dart for the door, my heels clicking a frantic staccato against the wood floor, but I don't get anywhere close to sweet salvation. Instead, Aiden wraps an arm around my waist and spins me around, putting his body between me and my escape.
“The absolute cheek,” the other guy says, delighted. “You sure you don't want help?”
“I'm sure,” Aiden says, his mouth so close to my ear I can feel his warm breath on my neck.
His friend hesitates. The mad humor left his eyes for a moment. “Don't you think?—”
“I said, I'm sure. I'll be down shortly.” This time, Aiden's tone brooks no argument. Even I would hesitate to defy him.
“You get to have all the fun,” his friend huffs before closing the door behind him and leaving me and Aiden alone again.
Fuck.
Maybe I would have been better off with the crazy one.
With his body between me and the door, he releases me, and I spin around, not wanting to have my back to him a moment longer than necessary. His face is carefully blank of emotion, but he doesn't quite dull the rabid curiosity in his expression. It's so intense, I take a step back to dull its potency.
“I swear I won't say anything. Let me go, and you'll never see me again.”
It kills something in me to say that, considering how hard I'm willing to fight and the lengths I'm willing to go to find justice for my mother. I mean, the guy just killed someone, but if he really was a corrupt police officer, then I have no sympathy for him. And I won't be able to help anyone if I'm dead.
“I'm afraid I can't let that happen,” Aiden answers.
“Then what—what do you want from me?”
“I want you to tell me the real reason you were in this room and what you were doing at the party. I know everyone on my guest list, and you weren’t on it.”
I lift my chin. “Like hell I’m going to tell you anything. You’ll probably kill me like you did that cop anyway.”
His head tilts. “Yes, there’s that. But I don’t normally kill unarmed women. Tell me what you’re doing here, and I’ll consider letting you go.”
“What if we flip a coin?” I blurt before he can propose something much, much more horrific.
He stills, and I hadn't even realized he was drawing closer. “A coin, really?”
“That's right. You run casinos, right? You like games of chance. What if we flip a coin or something? Heads, you let me go without a word, and I promise to keep my mouth shut. Tails, I stay and...” My voice trails off because he's looking at me like a cat would a butterfly it's about to pounce on. I swallow hard.
